


Shattered and Reckless

by Sweven



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt, JediFest, roguerobin, roguerobin009
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 17:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10252394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweven/pseuds/Sweven
Summary: Ahsoka finds herself alone on a Star Destroyer, an agent of the Rebellion wounded in hostile territory. A figure from her past appears as times look darkest.Created for the Rogue Robin over at http://jedifest.tumblr.com/Post Clone Wars, pre- Rebels. Canon divergence.





	

  
»Unghh…« Wheezing, Ahsoka leaned against the wall of the small closet-like space she currently inhabited. It was small and hot and even though Ahsoka was squatting, the top of her montrals scraped at the roof of the room. It would do for now. She needed to stay hidden more than she needed comfort. Sweat dripped from her brow and a trickle of blood escaped through her fingers where they clasped a wound on her arm.   
»Blasted Stormtroopers…«, she murmured as she inspected the wound with burnt fingertips. Deep. Bleeding heavily. Though as far as she could see, despite the blood, it hadn’t nicked any major veins. Lucky. Thank the Force for small favours she supposed.

Bandaging her wound was difficult with only one hand, but Ahsoka was nothing if not resourceful, and it gave her some time to reflect on her situation. This mission was supposed to have been a reconnaissance mission, nothing particularly dangerous. Hera had tried to convince her to bring some backup anyway. She had been right of course. Chuckling through the pain, Ahsoka wondered when she would start trusting Hera’s gut. The Twi’lek had a knack for these things and Ahsoka really should know better by now.   
She rarely went solo these days. Ahsoka usually brought a backup, whether it be another rebel, a rogue clone or Jedi, or additional backup in the form of random allies she made on the way.   
Lately her backup had been Ventress, but the Sith-turned-bountyhunter-turned-sorta-rebel had had business on her own. She'd be back in a few days but that didn't really help Ahsoka's current situation. They made a good team, they’d worked together long enough to be completely in synch on the battlefield. Maybe too in synch, Ahsoka thought, she was so used to someone having her back that she’d gotten caught by a group of Imperial officers as she was rifling through some classified documents. Documents about prison camps and slave ships, about great injustices that might help the Rebellion gain the favour of many of the Imperial Senators. Had Ventress been at her side, she might have sensed them approach or she would have cautioned Ahsoka to stay hidden, to stay in the shadows until the opportune moment appeared. Though, if Ventress had been with her, they probably wouldn’t have boarded a blasted Star Destroyer either. The mission had been to observe the officers movements on the ground after all, Ahsoka just hadn’t been able to resist when she heard rumours of the datadisks on board. Stowing away on a transit shuttle had been easy enough and the value of the information they held was potentially priceless to the Rebellion. If Ventress were here, she’d scoff and call the Togruta reckless or flat out stupid depending on her mood. Hera would be appalled and furious to learn that she’d gone so far off mission without reinforcement and without even checking in first. Sparing her friends a thought, Ahsoka hoped none of them had found themselves in a similar predicament.

Gathering her thoughts, Ahsoka considered her options. Her arm was bandaged, albeit not very well. It wouldn’t hold for long. With every breath she could feel her ribcage moving strangely, she figured at least a few ribs were cracked, if not outright broken. Every movement was limited by the pain and though her pain-threshold was high, Ahsoka doubted that she would be able to manage her usual acrobatics if it came to fighting. Not that she’d be able to use her usual techniques, she thought despairingly as she reached into her belt. She unclasped her single lightsaber and reached into a pouch at her belt for the remaining pieces of her other weapon.

Regarding the chunks of metal and crystal she grimaced. »Sithspit,« she whispered, frustration thickening her voice. The kyber crystal was intact. She’d suspected as much. Blaster bolts couldn’t easily damage it, thankfully. Unfortunately, the casing was nothing but a heap of melted metal at this point, still warm to the touch.   
While she escaped from the officers she’d been distracted by a Force presence she knew, but it was impossible, and she’d run straight into a platoon of Stormtroopers. Ahsoka knew that she was good, but taking on that many Stormtroopers? No-one was that good. She’d attempted to stay out of sight, but by then a ship-wide alarm was blaring, putting everyone in high-alert mode.   
As she was trying to shake a couple of ‘troopers by jumping from one level to another, she’d felt the Force presence again, and she missed a jump. As Ahsoka scramled for secure ground more ‘troopers arrived. She dodged a shot from one by twisting mid-air, but another seared her arm, and she fell. She’d always thought the bridge systems on Imperial vessels were insane, they had to lose Stormtroopers every day by falling as she fell now.   
The impact as she hit a bridge several levels below was like a ton of bricks. Ahsoka had slowed herself with the Force but even then she felt her ribs give and for a moment she couldn’t breathe.   
Ahsoka allowed herself to lie still for all of two seconds before she forcibly pulled herself up, every inch of her body aching with pain. She could hear shouting from the ‘troopers above and blaster bolts were flying around her, too close for comfort. One of them blasted her lightsaber out of her hand, the momentary heat from the scorched metal enough to burn her glove. As she picked it up with her unharmed hand, it singed her fingers and Ahsoka shoved it into her pouch, ignoring the complaints her body made and dashed for the nearest exit. She scrambled haphazardly into corridors, instinctively using the Force to find the safest route and soon came upon the small closet she was in now. A momentary respite and one that she badly needed.

The alarm was getting on her nerves. It was at an ear-splitting volume and caused vibrations that made her montrals ache. It had been blaring for almost an hour now, though it felt like an eternity. Ahsoka tried to recall her Jedi training in meditation, she needed to stay calm. Anything distracting her at this point might be fatal.   
Breathing deeply Ahsoka closed her eyes and reached out with the Force. She could feel agitated lifeforms everywhere, this ship was crawling with Stormtroopers and every single one of them were looking for her. Their sense of urgency was palpable but Ahsoka disregarded them.   
The strange Force signature caught her attention in glimpses. The person must be suppressing their presence constantly, Ahsoka thought. She felt like she could recognize it from her time at the Jedi Temple, but with all the noise and activity in the Force she couldn’t know for certain. She squashed down a small glimmer of hope that she had found another Jedi survivor. They were rare and far between, but she’d found a few since the rise of the Empire. Though she was no longer a Jedi, she still felt a kinship with them. She had grown up there after all, and the injustices that had been dealt her were long in the past, though never completely forgiven. Sullenly, Ahsoka conceded that she wasn’t in any shape to search for the maybe-Jedi right now. All she could hope for was a chance encounter in the future and so she pushed the thought from her mind.  
Searching further she located the bridge, far above her, where she found a handful of more calm lifeforms gathered. Generals or officers, Ahsoka thought. They didn’t seem anxious in the same way the ‘troopers were. They were likely discussing how they should proceed once they’d caught her, she thought. Ahsoka didn’t like the certainty that hung in the air around them. She felt a sting of fear. She was used to being in dangerous situations, but never like this, never alone, injured and without any leverage. Ahsoka looked away. The bridge was inconsequential right now.   
She needed a way out, a way to escape or at least a way to transmit the data-disks to the Rebellion. Ahsoka searched the area around her with the Force. The hangar was fairly close. She might be able to find a ship that could transmit the data or stow away in a cargo hold. If she could get to a cockpit she might even get a chance to escape this blasted Star Destroyer on her own terms. Regardless she couldn’t stay here for much longer, she could feel the Stormtroopers getting closer through the Force.

Opening her eyes, Ahsoka swallowed a gasp of pain from her aching body as she began crawling out of the small space. Dodging ‘troopers in the barren hallways was difficult but Ahsoka had been raised in the middle of a war. She knew how to divert attention away from herself both with the Force and by using her environment. It was slow going but she crept closer and closer to the hangar bay. Soon she was close enough that she dared hope that she might get out of this mess somewhat whole after all.

Ahsoka quickly slipped into the hangar bay and breathed a sigh of relief. In here hiding would be much easier. Hundreds of large crates were stacked along the sides of the TIE fighters and the fighters themselves provided ample cover. There were only a few ‘troopers guarding the comm tower and a handful patrolling the area. Ahsoka looked out into the hangar bay and her brows knitted in frustration. She might have cover for now yes, but the only vessel that looked like it might have a long-range communication device was on the opposite site of the vast hangar. Even with the cover that would be difficult.

She started walking, slowly and swaying slightly, careful to stay out of view of the comm tower. The patrols were easy to avoid but soon Ahsoka felt a sense of urgency. The wound on her arm was bleeding again, rather heavily, and she’d begun to feel lightheaded. Leaning on the crates as she snuck by, Ahsoka started to lose hope again. Everything was pained and aching and it was difficult to think. Looking up towards her target she winced. It was still so far away…   
The alarm was unrelenting in here, the sound was reverberating in the hangar, swallowing all sounds, even Ahsoka’s unsteady scramble and, unfortunately, the heavy boots of Stormtroopers approaching from behind as well. Ahsoka cursed as she finally noticed them, mere moments before they noticed her. She ducked behind a TIE fighter wing, groaning at the prospect of fighting.

Pain was clouding her vision and she had a terrible revelation that this might be it. She drew her lightsaber, her mouth a grim line, determined to at least go down fighting if this was how it would end. Drawing a deep breath, Ahsoka stepped out from her cover, prepared to give it her best.  
A flurry of movement blurred her vision and for a moment Ahsoka thought she might cry with relief. Ahsokas’ world seemed to explode in motion and colour, a red saber cutting easily through the Stormtroopers, their comm devices creating sparks of bright, crackling light as they were being sliced apart, green and blue cloth swirling around the fighter, a flash of blaster bolts exploding against purple energy shields - and suddenly Ahsoka realised that the wielder of the saber wasn’t who she thought it was. Ventress never used shields, she preferred to dodge and weave the attacks instead. As the fighting died down, the alarm drowned out the groans and gurgles of the dying Stormtroopers, and her savior turned, eyes as large and serious as Ahsoka remembered them. Ahsoka gasped in disbelief.

»Barriss?!«

**Author's Note:**

> So where does this go from here? Is Barriss a friend or foe? How did she survive all these years? Does Ahsoka get out of there? Hopefully someone will pick up this story and we'll see!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Shattered and Reckless](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10672944) by [Perspicacia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perspicacia/pseuds/Perspicacia)
  * [Shattered and Reckless](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11014794) by [TwentyoneTwelve](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwentyoneTwelve/pseuds/TwentyoneTwelve)




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